Bar hanger



Feb. 27, 1951 l.. G. DoTsoN BAR HANGER Fiwld oct. 2, 1948 eig/:fon G. Doson INVENTOR.

ITTORNEY Patented Feb. 27, 1951 I ,UNITED STATES ,PATENT OFFICE j' "if Aflame HANGRM Leighton G. Dotson, Dallas, Tex.

Application October 2, 1948, Serial No. 52,501

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in bar hangers for supporting electrical outlet boxes and the like in proper operative position in building constructions.

It is one object of the invention to provide a bar hanger, for supporting an outlet box or receptacle, which is adapted to be mounted in either a horizontal or a vertical position in the building construction.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide a bar hanger of the character described which is constructed and arranged to engage over a flat supporting bar or strap either horizontally or vertically of the major cross sectional dimension of the strap for clamping a receptacle or an outlet box in place on the strap.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bar hanger which has adjustable clamping members to permit adjustments in position of the article supported by the hanger on the supporting bar.

An important object of the invention is to provide a bar hanger having a single clamping and locking screw for securing the clamping members of the'hanger in place on the bar, whereby installation ofthe hanger and locking of the receptacle supported thereby is facilitated and made simple. l

A further object of the invention is to provide a bar hanger which is simple in structure and suitable for manufacture by means of mass production automatic machines, whereby large quantities may be producedeconomically.

Y It isstill another object of the invention to provide a bar hanger of the character described wherein the clamping members are separable whereby the supporting bar may be secured in place in the building construction prior to clamping the outlet box in place so that the outlet box does not interfere with the installation of the hanger bar.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will readily be apparent from the reading of the following description of a device oonstructed in accordance with the invention, and reference to the accompanying drawings thereof, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a bar hanger constructed in accordance with the invention and showing the same installed in place in a building construction and supporting a receptacle therein.

Figure 2 isa side view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of the hanger,

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the hanger bar or strap secured in the hanger in a different position, f

5 Claims. (Cl. 248-298) conductors in the customary manner.

Y Figure 4 is an enlarged isometric view of the hanger showing the same clamped in place on a hanger bar, and

Figure 5 is an enlarged isometric view of the hanger clip member.

' In the drawings, the numeral Ill designates studs, joists, or other structural members of a building construction, and in Figure l an elongate fiat hanger bar or strap Il is shown as secured by nails l2 between the structural memn bers for supporting an electrical outlet box I3 in position for mounting electrical receptacles, or fixtures or the like, in place in the building structure. The outlet box is provided with the usual openings I4 for receiving conduit and electrical Also, while the hanger bar or strap H is shown as extending substantially vertically between the adjacent structural members, it is obvious that the bar may be secured in any other suitable position therebetween, as for example the positions shown in dotted lines in Figure l.

For releasably and adjustably securing the outlet box or receptacle |13 to the hanger bar or strap l I, the .bar hanger of the invention is provided. The hanger includes a U-shaped clip member 2B, preferably formed of a strip of metal having a transverse bottom piece 2l and a pair of spaced upright arms 22, as clearly shown in or strap Il may be positioned within either theA vertical portion 24 of thev openings, as clearly shown in Figure 2 and in dotted lines in Figure 5, or the strap or hanger bar may be positioned in the horizontal portion 25 of the openings in the manner illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, said openings fitting rather closely about the bar.

The lower portion of the clip 2|] is adapted to engage within a transverse opening 25 formed in a clamping stud member 21, and to be held in place in said opening by means of a screw or bolt 28 which' extends longitudinally through an axial opening 29 in the stud member. The screw 28 threads into a threaded opening 30 formed centrallyof the transverse bottom portion 2l of the clip, whereby the clip may be drawn downwardly in the recess 26 until the hanger bar or strap II engages against the upper end of the stud member 21.

The upper end of the stud member is substantially flat, and spaced downwardly below its upper end the stud member has formed thereon :an external annular flange 3l which provides an upwardly facing shoulder 32 spaced slightly below from the upper surface of the stud. Below the flange 3l, the body of the stud converges inwardly and downwardly to provide a reduced externally screwthreaded boss 33 upon which electrical xtures or the like are adapted .to be screwthreaded, whereby such xtures are supported by the bar or strap I I by means of the clipand stud. The projecting threaded boss is provided with an axial counter bore in which the head of the clamping screw 28 fits loosely so as to be enclosed or covered by the boss.

The upper nat end of the stud is adapted to engage in the usual central opening I in the outlet box or receptacle I3, and the external annular ange 3| engages against the underside of the marginal edge portion of the receptacle `adjacent such central opening, as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 3, whereby the receptacle is securely clamped between the flange shoulder 32 and the edge or bottom of the hanger bar or strap II. The clamping screw or bolt 28 is tightened to draw the clip 2! downwardly in the transverse opening 2B in the clamping stud to securely press the outlet box I3 against the bar and clamp the same in position thereon.

Manifestly, the bar II may be tted in the openings 23 in the clip in either a, horizontal or a vertical position, and the outlet box may be rmly clamped in place on the bar regardless of which position the bar extends through the clip.

Furthermore, it will be readily seen that it is only necessary to slip the clip 2U on the hanger bar I I prior to nailing or otherwise securing the bar in place between the structural members 4Ill of the building, and that the clip will not interfere with the nailing Aor otherwise securing of the hanger bar in place. After the bar has been secured in place on the structural members, the outlet box I3 may be positioned on the shoulder 32 of the clamping stud and the stud fitted onto the lower portion of the hanger clip 2l), whereupon the screw 28 may be threaded into the opening 36 in the lower transverse portion of the clip and the stud drawn upwardly or inwardly against the hanger bar to secure the receptacle in vplace between the bar and clamping stud.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the bar hanger provides for readily and simply securing and clamping a receptacle or outlet box in place on a supporting strap or hanger bar secured to the structural members of a building or the like, and that the bar hanger permits adjustments in position of the receptacle on the bar and positively secures the receptacle in such adjusted position when the screw is turned to clamp the receptacle between the stud and the bar. It will also be seen that the hanger provides for securing the receptacle to the bar by means of a single clamping screw which tightly clamps the receptacle in place between'the stud and bar.

It will also particularly be seen that the hanger clip 20 is adapted to t on a hanger bar with the bar in either a vertical or a horizontal position in the clip, and that the `bar hanger vwill clamp the receptacle to the bar or strap regardless of 4 the position of the bar with respect to the receptacle. It is further believed manifest that the device is readily adaptable to high speed automatic machines, such as punch presses and the like, whereby the hanger may be manufactured in large quantities economically.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, and changes in the details of the construction illustrated maybe made by those skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A hanger for supporting receptacles or the like in operative position in building constructions and including, an elongate flat rigid hanger bar adapted to be secured between structural members of a building construction, a clamping clip having a slot therethrough providing an opening with a longitudinally elongated portion and a transversely elongated portion near one end and arranged to slidably receive the hanger bar in either the longitudinal or transverse portions of the slot, a clamping stud having an opening at one end adapted to receive the end of the clip having the transverse portion of the slot therein and arranged to telescope the clip to overlap the slot therein, and a clamping screw carried by the stud and threaded into an opening in the end of the clip for causing the stud to telescope the clip.

2. In a bar hanger., a clamping clip formed of a strip of flat metal bent into substantially a U- shape `and having matching openings formed in the parallel arms for receiving a supporting bar. said openings being formed in the shape of substantially an inverted T with the cross-piece of the T nearest the transverse bottom portion 0f the clip, a clamping stud having a transverse slot at one end arranged to engage over the lower portion of the ,clip so as to move the bifurcated end of the stud to overlap the openings in the arms of the clip, and a Aclamping screw carried by the stud and threaded into an opening in the transverse bottom portion of the clip for adiustably moving the clip with respect to the stud.

3. A bar hanger including, a clamping stud having a clamping shoulder at `one end and a transverse substantially rectangular slot formed in said end and extending past the clamping shoulder, an oppositely facing shoulder spaced from the clamping shoulder and having an axial opening extending lfrom said oppositely facing shoulder into the bottom of the transverse slot, a clamping clip formed of a strip of flat metal bent into substantially a U-shape with a at transverse bottom cross-piece and parallel upright arms and arranged to slidably iit in the transverse slot of the stud, said clip having a central screw-threaded opening in the bottom cross-piece and matching inverted T-shaped openings formed in the upright arms with the l cross-piece of the T-shape nearest the bottom of the clip, and a clamping screw having its head arranged to engage the oppositely facing shoulder of the stud and extending through the axial opening from said shoulder into the transverse slot and threaded into the threaded opening of the clip for adjusting the position of the clip in said transverse slot.

4. A bar hanger of the character set forth in claim 3, wherein the stud is provided with an annular externally screw-threaded skirt surroundthe end of the clip having the horizontal cross portion of the slot therein and arranged. t0 'telescope the Clip to overlap the slot therein, said stud having a clamping shoulder formed thereon for clamping a receptacle or the like between said shoulder and the supporting bar, and a clamping screw carried by the stud and threaded into an opening in the telescoped end of the clip for adjusting the stud with respect to the clip for moving said stud to clamping position.

LEIGHTON G. DOTSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,522,987 Calderwood Mar. 22, 1927 1,777,291 Clayton Oct. 7, 1930 1,789,124 Wever Jan. 13, 1931 2,269,228 Rugg Jan. 6, 1942 2,271,194 Ingwer et al Jan. 27, 1942 2,380,793 Rugg July 31, 1945 

